BY FREEMAN MAKOPA
TODAY marks the second anniversary of one of Africa’s most renowned artistes, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi.
The internationally acclaimed Tuku, succumbed to diabetes at the age of 66 at the Avenues Clinic in Harare on January 23, 2019.
Tuku, who was declared a national hero, becoming Zimbabwe’s first musician to be accorded such status was however, laid to rest at his rural Madziwa, Mashonaland Central province.
With 66 albums to his name, Tuku contributed immensely in nurturing Zimbabwean music talents.
Off the stage, he held various prestigious positions, among them the goodwill ambassador for United Nations Children’s Fund and had the Cavaliere of the Order of Merit bestowed on him by the Italian government.
Tuku toured several countries playing in world capitals and at top festivals and had been endorsed by many companies as their brand ambassador as he became increasingly involved as a philanthropist and human rights advocate.
Such was the lifestyle of the late music icon.
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As part of commemorating her late father’s death, Selmor will today release an emotional remix of Tuku’s song Ngwarai that is accompanied by a video calling for siblings to unite.
With the differences that previously rocked the Tuku family, the remix is a show of maturity and exudes a unifying spirit from Selmor.
The Ngwarai video takes fans down memory lane with clips of Tuku’s live performances and videos.
It also features shots of Selmor performing with Tuku during her stint with the Black Spirits, pictures of her sisters Sandra, Samantha and Sybil as well as with late brother Sam.
Speaking to NewsDay Weekender yesterday through her publicist Reginald Chapfunga, Selmor said they were supposed to host a gig, but due to coronavirus, they are just commemorating the late icon through the release of the song.
“We thought of doing a remix of the track Ngwarai as a way to celebrate Tuku’s life. We are proud of the achievements, hence we are celebrating his life through this track which calls for families, especially siblings to unite,” she said.
“The song is accompanied by a simple video celebrating Tuku legacy. It also features photos of Tuku with other musicians and fans. The video is dropping tomorrow (today).”
Apart from his rich discography and yet to be quantified unreleased material, Tuku also left a multi-million dollar arts centre, Pakare Paye Arts Centre situated in Norton.
The arts centre that houses state-of-the-art recording studios, rehearsal space, conferencing facilities, restaurants, bars, boutiques and a hotel has over the years been a place to use to mentor untapped talents.
Tuku’s wife, Daisy Mtukudzi said: “As much as we would have liked to remember him because of the accomplishments he achieved, sadly, we can’t do anything as for commemorations because of COVID-19.”
“He (Tuku) was an icon both to local and international music fraternity, but it is a sad thing that we lost him.”
Tuku’s nephew and manager Walter Wanyanya echoed similar sentiments.
“We would have loved to commemorate in the best way we know how that is through live music, but because of the current pandemic we have put those plans on hold. We hope that by September God willing we would have returned to some kind of normal and we will do something around his birthday hopefully by then it will be safe to do so.”
Follow Freeman on Twitter @freemanmakopa
